Uneasy Rhetoric

Urban Cartography posts about recently released 2000 Census data which shows that Sacramento grows by a whopping 100,000 people during the weekday. It’s a lot of people - almost a 25 percent increase - but if you think about it, it makes sense. Sacramento is surrounded by large and rapidly growing suburbs. The Census data are for Sacramento city, not the Metropolitan Service Area (MSA).

Compare this to a few similar cities. Portland sees a 23 percent increase in daytime population. It also has thriving, though somewhat smaller, suburban communities. Seattle clocks in at a 28 percent increase.

My theory breaks down to a degree when you look at the biggest metropolitan regions which, with the exception of Houston, Dallas, and San Diego, all see daytime population increases of less than 10 percent. One could explain this away by saying that the suburban communities surrounding major metropolitan communities are complete cities in and of themselves, rather than serving as bedroom communities for their central urban core. Certainly in Los Angeles, there is not one, but multiple urban cores.

According to the Census, there are just over 166,000 workers who live in Sacramento. However, only just 100,000 workers both live and work in Sacramento. So, the city loses 66,000 workers to other locations.

Even though Sacramento’s bedroom communities still function largely as residential centers, their role as employment destinations in their own right is growing. That is why there are calls for a north-south route between Elk Grove and Roseville.

What does all this mean? Traffic will continue to be a pain.